Kauffman drives home three, including go-ahead double in second

Box Score
Recap: Stonehill 3, Merrimack 2 (courtesy Northeast-10)

RINDGE, N.H. (May 8, 2010) – Senior second baseman Cody Kauffman (Blue Bell, Pa.) hit 2-for-5 and drove in three runs, including a two-run double in the second inning that gave his team the lead for good on Saturday night, as the No. 25/26 nationally ranked and second-seeded Franklin Pierce University baseball team staved off elimination with an 8-4 victory over No. 13/21 nationally ranked and top-seeded Southern Connecticut State on the third day of the Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championship, hosted by Franklin Pierce at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field.

With the victory, Franklin Pierce improves to 35-13-1 and advances to play another elimination game, at 9 a.m. Sunday against sixth-seeded Merrimack. The winner of that game will attempt to defeat fourth-seeded Stonehill twice in the championship round. With the loss, Southern Connecticut State falls to 35-11-1 and is eliminated.

Southern Connecticut State opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. Junior left fielder Kyle Rosadino was hit by a pitch to start the inning, but was erased at second as junior catcher Nick DeProspo bunted into a fielder's choice. He would eventually score from third on an RBI single to left by sophomore third baseman A.J. Rouleau. Also in the inning, sophomore shortstop Ryan Geffert worked a walk and later scored on an RBI single by sophomore designated hitter Eric Schlitter.

Franklin Pierce answered with five runs of its own in the top of the second to jump to a 5-2 lead. Early in the inning, sophomore first baseman Isaac Wenrich (Westlawn, Pa.) and freshman shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) had RBI singles to tie the game. Later, with runners on first and third and two outs, Kauffman lifted a fly ball to left field. The wind blew the ball away from the SCSU left fielder, it fell untouched and turned into a two-run double to give Franklin Pierce the lead. Kauffman would score to make it 5-2 when sophomore catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass.) reached on an error.

Southern Connecticut State cut the lead to 5-3 with a run in the bottom of the second when Rosadino walked and scored from first on a double into the gap in right-center by DeProspo. The Owls would pick up another in the fourth to pull within a run at 5-4 when sophomore first baseman Bryan Dorsey doubled and scored on an RBI single back through the middle by freshman center fielder Michael Cleary.

Franklin Pierce reclaimed a three-run lead with two runs in the top of the sixth to extend the lead to 7-4. Senior right fielder Phil Hendricks (Pittsfield, Maine) led off and pushed a double down the right-field line, moved to third on a groundout to first base and scored on a double into the gap in right-center by Wenrich, who drove in his second run of the game. Wenrich moved to third on an infield single by Kemp and scored when Kauffman lined an RBI single over the head of the second baseman and into right-center.

The Ravens added an insurance run in the seventh on an RBI single to left by freshman center fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.) to push the lead to 8-4.

Freshman right-hander Joe Flynn (Plymouth, Mass.) started and did not factor in the decision on the mound for Franklin Pierce. He lasted just one-third of an inning, allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits, walked one, threw two wild pitches and hit a batter. Freshman right-hander Rob Blanc (Sandy Hook, Conn.) threw the final 8.2 innings out of the bullpen, allowed two runs on five hits, walked two, hit a batter and struck out nine to pick up the win (5-0).

Junior right-hander Steve Simon started and took the loss (6-1) on the hill for Southern Connecticut State. Over 5.1 innings, he allowed seven runs (six earned) on nine hits and struck out six.